Western European Politics Europe Of Regions Essay

Western European Politics: Europe Of Regions Essay, Research Paper

Western European Politics

17/03/00

Assess the arguments for and against a ‘Europe of the regions’

A ‘Europe of the Regions’ seems to be a phrase, which encourages the dissolution of states in favour of smaller regional identities. A region can be defined by four criteria: a region does not have a limited size; it displays homogeneity in terms of specific criteria; it may also be distinguished from bordering areas by a particular kind of association of related features; and it should possess some kind of internal cohesion.

Since the passage of the Single European Act: “the goal of economic and social cohesion has become a central part of the debate on the prospect for an impact of economic integration and monetary union on member states and regions in the European Community.” The definition of cohesion, in the Single European Act, is the attenuation of the disparities between the well off regions and the least favoured ones. Some member states have shown more interest and have provided more freedom to regions than others. The importance and the autonomy of regions have been significantly increasing over the years. This implies that all regions in Europe are facing the need for adjustment and for instance they must develop their own response shaped by their social context. Therefore in response to the development of regional dimension of Community affairs, the Commission in 1988 decided to establish the Consultative Council of Regional Development.

Because of the sudden significance of regions, many sub-national levels of government have formed direct lines of communication with decision-making in Brussels. There are definite positive assets in a ‘Europe of regions’. However there are also lots of disadvantages for some regions. In this essay, I will be discussing the arguments for and against a ‘Europe of regions’.

There are a lot of positive aspects of a ‘Europe of regions’; here are some examples of such.

All regions are looking for competitive advantage. The most important factor for the latter is innovation. Therefore regions and the European institutions are now working together with national government to promote regional growth. Indeed there is a strong need for adjustment because of the new global conditions: no regions have been totally immuned to the pressure of global competition. The increase in globalisation of markets has changed the environment of the European companies, making them face intensive price, time and quality competition abroad but also at home.

To stay competitive regions have to innovate. This concept is used in connection with the analysis of processes of technological change. Once can state three different stages in technological change: invention, innovation and diffusion. “Invention is defined as the stage of production of new knowledge; innovation as the first application of the existing knowledge to production; and diffusion as the broadening use of new technologies.” An innovation system is therefore a social system. For instance they are the results of social interactions between economic actors. Hence it is an open system, which interacts with its environment.

It is technological progress, which initiates the process of economic growth. Technological progress usually reflects an improvement in the quality of capital goods and the efficiency with which inputs are combined. Technological advance includes not merely new production techniques but also new managerial methods and new forms of business organisation. It is generally linked with the discovery of new knowledge, which permits firms to combine a specific amount of resources in new ways to achieve a greater output. It is also important to mention that technological advance and capital formation are closely related; technological advance often requires investment in new machinery and equipment.

The European Commission seeks to maximize the innovation potential of firms in its leading technology: “the general move towards reflexivity and indigenous growth on the regional level has been further accelerated by the process of the European integration since the mid-1980s.”

The 1988 reform of the ‘Structural Funds’ helped the less developed regions of the Community by providing them new stimulus and additional support. While by the Single Act and the 1992 programme regulatory competition for direct investment was increased and incentives for interregional co-operation was provided for the better off regions. The new structural funds aim not only for redistribution of financial resources, but also for a “management of regional policy to enable regions themselves to take charge of economic development.” This results in a multiplier effect: more European money is aimed at specific areas, but the regions themselves are now spending more money on development. Economic growth is then generated. Some of the leading regions have shown a high annual growth rate and low unemployment with new regional industrial policies, particularly with regard to enterprise support for small and medium sized firms.

One of the other advantages of regionalized industrial policy is that they are more sensitised to and sensitive of the needs of regional firms. The money going into a member state’s region must be additional to the flow of national